HOSTING - How much do you charge your clients?

57 replies
Hi guys,

I'm torn between getting a reseller account at Hostgator and then charging my clients a monthly hosting fee... or just asking the client to use my Hostgator affiliate link and taking the referral payout.

If I do go the reseller route and collect the monthly myself, I'm not sure what to charge the client. Frankly, I feel a bit guilty charging them $25 or $30 per month when I know they can get their hosting from Hostgator for less than $10 per month.

So... I'm wondering how much you guys charge your clients.

I'm also curious to know how the client feels about this price, and if they've ever said anything like "hey wait, I can get hosting for $5 month!" (or something similar).

Lastly, how do you guys handle the recurring billing? What do you use? PayPal, or?? How well does it work? etc...

Thanks in advance any help you can provide!
#charge #clients #hosting
  • Profile picture of the author Rozanne
    If your main profession is web designing or developing, then reseller hosting package would be a good option for you, as your existing and potential clients may feel comfortable with you...
    However, reseller hosting business is not so easy, because at present situation hosting market is very crowded and the ratio of successful resellers going down, as people mostly go with popular hosting companies.
    On the other side, affiliate business continuously booming, because you just want to refer web host's services to your contacts and in return you get a decent commission. Even though, a lot of web host's run 2 tire affiliate program. So in my opinion, if you don't want to push yourself to much hard, but want to earn decent money, you should opt web hosting affiliate program rather than reseller hosting.

    Lastly, how do you guys handle the recurring billing? What do you use? PayPal, or?? How well does it work? etc...
    We use PayPal, MoneyBooker, Google Checkout, 2checkout, bank transfer, etc....and these payment gateways works really great...that's it...
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    • Profile picture of the author SoundsGood
      Originally Posted by Rozanne View Post

      So in my opinion, if you don't want to push yourself to much hard, but want to earn decent money, you should opt web hosting affiliate program rather than reseller hosting.
      I see. Okay, thank you.
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      • Profile picture of the author jbpatlanta
        I charge them $25 dollars a month. I tell this this is for maintenance as well as hosting. So if they need up to two changes a month, I will do this for free.

        If they are hesitant to do this, I let them sign up to hostgator through my affiliate link. Then I tell them that if they have any problems to contact hostgator and not me.

        I also remind them that should they want any changes to their website, I will be happy to do that at a rate of $50 an hour.

        Most of them then take my hosting.

        Jon
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        • Profile picture of the author MorpheusMirror
          Originally Posted by jbpatlanta View Post

          I charge them $25 dollars a month. I tell this this is for maintenance as well as hosting. So if they need up to two changes a month, I will do this for free.

          If they are hesitant to do this, I let them sign up to hostgator through my affiliate link. Then I tell them that if they have any problems to contact hostgator and not me.

          I also remind them that should they want any changes to their website, I will be happy to do that at a rate of $50 an hour.

          Most of them then take my hosting.

          Jon
          Awesome reframe! Getting the clients to understand the value of going through you.
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        • Profile picture of the author Brian Maroevich
          Originally Posted by jbpatlanta View Post

          I charge them $25 dollars a month. I tell this this is for maintenance as well as hosting. So if they need up to two changes a month, I will do this for free.

          If they are hesitant to do this, I let them sign up to hostgator through my affiliate link. Then I tell them that if they have any problems to contact hostgator and not me.

          I also remind them that should they want any changes to their website, I will be happy to do that at a rate of $50 an hour.

          Most of them then take my hosting.

          Jon
          I just wanted to thank you for this post because it solved a problem I've been grappling with all day today. And as a small thank you I ordered your WSO, which will probably result in another thank you from me
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        • Profile picture of the author maverick8
          Originally Posted by jbpatlanta View Post

          I charge them $25 dollars a month. I tell this this is for maintenance as well as hosting. So if they need up to two changes a month, I will do this for free.

          If they are hesitant to do this, I let them sign up to hostgator through my affiliate link. Then I tell them that if they have any problems to contact hostgator and not me.

          I also remind them that should they want any changes to their website, I will be happy to do that at a rate of $50 an hour.

          Most of them then take my hosting.

          Jon
          LOL it sounds like you have clients/prospects that think you charge to much. Try this:

          I have clients that are paying $200 a month for shared hosting with custom CMS. 2nd worst CMS i have ever had to deal with. And to make changes that cant be made through the CMS the company charge $110 an hour. And over 1500 business in Australia pay this every month.

          Your clients are getting a bargain
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisStCroix
    Strictly as a reseller is a tough business.
    I usually throw in 1year free hosting with other services then $60 for the year thereafter.

    ivhosting dot com
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  • Profile picture of the author Ru1N
    I would not resell based on the headaches it creates and the obligations you then have towards the clients, however, the affiliate business is getting very very crowded, and much tougher to rise to the top....
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    • Profile picture of the author Chuck Austin
      We have sone both in the past. It really depends on the scope of the project in our case.

      Found many hassles with reseller on smaller accounts.

      We have used affiliate on smaller accounts.
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      • Profile picture of the author origin
        I also charge yearly on a reseller account and bundle the hosting with my web design offer for free for the first year. I charge approx $100 per year after first year on my reseller account. If the average business lasts 5 years that is $100 x 5 as opposed to once of $100 fee for an affiliate link.

        I discount any additional hosting accounts to abt $60 per year. I have MANY clients with 3 + domains hosting with me.

        I tell you this makes ALL the difference in terms of income. Just on hosting rebilling I make between $2000 - $3000 pm at the moment. So it pays the bills even before you start with any new clients or projects for the month.

        In fact, the reason I build websites is not for the website income but for the hosting. With sending them to your affiliate account you get the comms once off. With the reseller you build up a steady recurring income. Its not that hard to manage, I have over 200 clients domains and with hostgator there is very little hickup and their support is always live and top notch.

        Like I said, I do billing yearly and do it on invoice. I can automate it but just have not come arround to it. Your choice. I'd suggest automate as much as you can from the start, saves headaches later on.

        But I'd never "give" them away for a once of $100 if I can get $400 extra on recuring income over the next 5 years.
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    • Profile picture of the author Valerie DuVall
      Originally Posted by Ru1N View Post

      I would not resell based on the headaches it creates and the obligations you then have towards the clients, however, the affiliate business is getting very very crowded, and much tougher to rise to the top....
      It does not matter how crowded affiliate marketing is as you will be offering your affiliate link to a prospect or client - really there is no competition if you have built up trust with that prospect/client.

      Would I advise setting up a website and trying convert leads to a hosting affiliate program - no way - that is very competitive.

      Val
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      • Profile picture of the author ezlegion
        Great advice, if you get yourself a reseller acc you are much more in control of your client too (but in a good way). I find most small/medium sized clients (if that's your area) that I deal with know v little about the whole subject and are glad for you to deal with it all for a reasonable fee.

        Another advantage with a reseller account (if you choose a reliable hosting service) is your clients will enjoy great uptime %ages and speed.

        But giving them choices as described in the posts below is the ultimate

        Originally Posted by origin View Post

        I also charge yearly on a reseller account and bundle the hosting with my web design offer for free for the first year. I charge approx $100 per year after first year on my reseller account. If the average business lasts 5 years that is $100 x 5 as opposed to once of $100 fee for an affiliate link.

        I discount any additional hosting accounts to abt $60 per year. I have MANY clients with 3 + domains hosting with me.

        I tell you this makes ALL the difference in terms of income. Just on hosting rebilling I make between $2000 - $3000 pm at the moment. So it pays the bills even before you start with any new clients or projects for the month.

        In fact, the reason I build websites is not for the website income but for the hosting. With sending them to your affiliate account you get the comms once off. With the reseller you build up a steady recurring income. Its not that hard to manage, I have over 200 clients domains and with hostgator there is very little hickup and their support is always live and top notch.

        Like I said, I do billing yearly and do it on invoice. I can automate it but just have not come arround to it. Your choice. I'd suggest automate as much as you can from the start, saves headaches later on.

        But I'd never "give" them away for a once of $100 if I can get $400 extra on recuring income over the next 5 years.
        Originally Posted by jbpatlanta View Post

        I charge them $25 dollars a month. I tell this this is for maintenance as well as hosting. So if they need up to two changes a month, I will do this for free.

        If they are hesitant to do this, I let them sign up to hostgator through my affiliate link. Then I tell them that if they have any problems to contact hostgator and not me.

        I also remind them that should they want any changes to their website, I will be happy to do that at a rate of $50 an hour.

        Most of them then take my hosting.

        Jon
        Originally Posted by Tashi Mortier View Post

        That is a great idea, you should always offer more value instead of trying to lower your price.

        My plan is to offer my clients hosting for 25 bucks a month, and also include updating and backing up their scripts. As a bonus they get a "hacker insurance", which means that I'll restore their site in case it gets hacked for free.

        So it's more than hosting, I guarantee that their website will run smoothly and securely as long as they don't mess around. Peace of mind is a rare resource nowadays.
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  • Profile picture of the author wordydiva
    I usually charge 1 year upfront to avoid the hassle of continued billing. If the client isn't interested, I send them directly to the hosting company via an affiliate link. The reseller route can be lucrative, but to be honest their are some clients who I just had to send to the company because I knew the additional obligation would be a nightmare.
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  • Profile picture of the author SoundsGood
    Very interesting. Good stuff, thanks origin!
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    • Profile picture of the author TracyZ
      Great info Origin and jbpatlanta. I have two "baby" accounts for personal sites at hostgator and have been referring clients for their own accounts via affiliate links. I'm ready to take the plunge to reseller status.

      I noticed that hostgator has an option to transfer accounts when upgrading which would means I'd start off with no extra expense. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the transfer and whether it is a smooth process or a nightmare to be avoided!

      Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author jgsketch
    I offer $25 a month for hosting but this is just a fake amount. I then explain the hosting and maintenance price of $35 a month. I think i only have a couple of clients on the $25 plan. Most want the upgrade to $35.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tashi Mortier
      Originally Posted by jgsketch View Post

      I offer $25 a month for hosting but this is just a fake amount. I then explain the hosting and maintenance price of $35 a month. I think i only have a couple of clients on the $25 plan. Most want the upgrade to $35.
      That is a great idea, you should always offer more value instead of trying to lower your price.

      My plan is to offer my clients hosting for 25 bucks a month, and also include updating and backing up their scripts. As a bonus they get a "hacker insurance", which means that I'll restore their site in case it gets hacked for free.

      So it's more than hosting, I guarantee that their website will run smoothly and securely as long as they don't mess around. Peace of mind is a rare resource nowadays.
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  • Profile picture of the author SoundsGood
    One of my concerns with reseller hosting is being able to charge the client monthly (recurring billing) since I'm not ready yet for a merchant account. I guess I can look into PayPal's recurring billing feature.
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  • Profile picture of the author NiagaraLocal
    In most cases you would want to stay away from sending your clients away from your business as would happen if you referred them for hosting. You want that permission to contact them always.

    So if you are offering hosting services, you can send them a monthly notice on web usage where you can add a marketing message. That's 12 money making opportunity each year that would be lost if you simply referred your clients out.
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  • Profile picture of the author sakthiganesh
    I am running the hosting business in my region which starts from the price cost less than a dollar a month to 20 dollars a month.
    I am offering special tips and exclusive support to my clients as after sales support .This is makes me get new orders from my existing clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author swagcentral
    I charge $15 a month. But I think I should implement Jon's strategy.
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  • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
    Do some of people host the customers website in your own hosting account?
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  • Profile picture of the author sherylmartin
    I charge $50 to $100, but it is more "maintenance" than hosting. I am charging the client for any changes/updates, additional content, site upkeep/security and a few other things. They see it as a package deal once I explain to them exactly what they are getting in return for what they are paying.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin012
      Originally Posted by sherylmartin View Post

      I charge $50 to $100, but it is more "maintenance" than hosting. I am charging the client for any changes/updates, additional content, site upkeep/security and a few other things. They see it as a package deal once I explain to them exactly what they are getting in return for what they are paying.
      You mean you are charging them 50$-100$ per month of hosting or annually? I haven't charged any of my clients for hosting for the first year but i plan on charging them for the second year. I have a reseller account with hostgator so how much do you suggest i should charge my clients after the first year of free hosting?
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  • It is actually hectic resell such. The obligations to undergo with your clients is a bit challenging.
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  • Profile picture of the author kbrady
    Great thread. I am just kicking off a reseller account and learned a few things. I am glad we are going with the reseller option vice affiliate link (though I have made a few buck off the affiliate link in the past)
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan Ashburn
      I think the answer here lies in the way in which you are approaching and long-term vision. If you are creating websites and in it for the long run then charging your client a monthly fee for hosting and maintenance is perfect. Yes they can get it for $10 at HostGator but do they know what to do with it or do they have the time? In most cases NO!.. that is why they hired you! It also depends on the client, if they insist on having their own hosting account then you simply charge them a monthly fee to manage and maintain it.

      As a general rule of thumb I charge £40/month (do the math for $) which includes 1 hours maintenance. If the client is tight or sceptical then I introduce them at £25/month for 3 months and ensure I make them feel they have value for money in those 3 months, then bump them up. I also ensure they know any additional work is charged at £40/hour... Think bread and butter... think long term!
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  • Profile picture of the author IceCreamTruck
    I want to get into the resell business but I'm seeking a reseller company that has a solution that will allow potential clients sign up automatically for hosting accounts through a custom resell website rather than me add them manually. One that also offers automatic login retrieval should they forget their username or password for their accounts. And provide a knowledge base to help them get started with the basics. Looking for as much automation as possible, any suggestions?

    I love the suggestions on this thread but still confused whether to charge monthly or yearly and how many updates or hours to provide each month? I'm worried if I go too cheap I will attract a lot of headaches and problem clients. Is it better to go cheap and focus on hosting as many clients as possible or charge more so you have less clients to deal with?

    If I end up hosting say 300 simple websites how many of them do you think are going to have issues or need updates every month? I was thinking of just hosting WP websites so I know they can do easily do updates themselves and avoid clients trying to run complex programs. Thoughts?
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    • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
      Originally Posted by IceCreamTruck View Post

      I want to get into the resell business but I'm seeking a reseller company that has a solution that will allow potential clients sign up automatically for hosting accounts through a custom resell website rather than me add them manually. One that also offers automatic login retrieval should they forget their username or password for their accounts. And provide a knowledge base to help them get started with the basics. Looking for as much automation as possible, any suggestions?

      I love the suggestions on this thread but still confused whether to charge monthly or yearly and how many updates or hours to provide each month? I'm worried if I go too cheap I will attract a lot of headaches and problem clients. Is it better to go cheap and focus on hosting as many clients as possible or charge more so you have less clients to deal with?

      If I end up hosting say 300 simple websites how many of them do you think are going to have issues or need updates every month? I was thinking of just hosting WP websites so I know they can do easily do updates themselves and avoid clients trying to run complex programs. Thoughts?
      I'll give you a few of my thoughts.

      Charge monthly, but offer yearly as well.

      Start with a reseller plan, but not with HostGator. HG bases disk space on allocated space, not used space. The aluminum plan, with 5gb per account will only allow you 10 accounts even if you're only using a 100megs of space.

      Hosting is a competitive business. It's not something for someone to just jump into, you'll quickly find out how hard it actually is when your reputation is on the line, word spreads fast.

      Getting clients isn't as easy as it's made out to be. It takes time, hard work & dedication.

      Your prices need to be competitive, but not too expensive or too cheap.

      You need to offer things that other hosts don't. Such as backups, or not charging to restore a backup. HG charges $15 to to restore one of their backups, and they only backup weekly. Large accounts don't get backed up in most cases either.

      You need to know where to draw the line when it comes to support. Are you a web host or a webmaster? These are two very different worlds.

      Treat every customer, no matter how much they're paying, as a valued customer.


      I am a web host myself, and sometimes cross the web host/webmaster line to help my customers out. This is also what keeps them with me along with the extra services I have to offer them. I also only specialize in shared hosting. No resellers.
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  • Profile picture of the author s62731
    What!!!

    I cant believe some of you guys are talking about charging $15 a month, or giving them a year free.

    Are you trying to make money? or work a job?

    If you are a web designer, the money is not in the web design, it is in the hosting!!!

    What do I mean?

    When someone pays you $900 for a website, you are getting paid for the work you do. If it takes you x hours, you are making 900/X dollars an hour. You are working a job.

    With hosting, you get paid for doing nothing!

    I have a reseller account with hostgator, and it is working excellently. The amount I charge for hosting keeps rising, because no one is objecting.

    First it was $30 a month or $300 a year, then $40 a month, and now it is up to $60 a month!!

    These are businesses, that is poo change for them. $60 a month means $720 a year!

    So if I have 100 customers, that is $72,000 a year!

    So lets just say over the course of 1 year, you make 100 sales, and complete 100 websites and sign them all up to $60 a month hosting.

    That means the next year you wouldn't even have to work, and you would have $72,000 income!!

    I plan on making it $100 a month very shortly, but the added bonus is they can email me to make unlimited changes a month, and I will do it for free. But I will not make the changes, I will pay someone else $5 an hour to make the changes.

    You need to think about a business model.
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    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by s62731 View Post

      What!!!

      I cant believe some of you guys are talking about charging $15 a month, or giving them a year free.

      Are you trying to make money? or work a job?

      If you are a web designer, the money is not in the web design, it is in the hosting!!!

      What do I mean?

      When someone pays you $900 for a website, you are getting paid for the work you do. If it takes you x hours, you are making 900/X dollars an hour. You are working a job.

      With hosting, you get paid for doing nothing!

      I have a reseller account with hostgator, and it is working excellently. The amount I charge for hosting keeps rising, because no one is objecting.

      First it was $30 a month or $300 a year, then $40 a month, and now it is up to $60 a month!!

      These are businesses, that is poo change for them. $60 a month means $720 a year!

      So if I have 100 customers, that is $72,000 a year!

      So lets just say over the course of 1 year, you make 100 sales, and complete 100 websites and sign them all up to $60 a month hosting.

      That means the next year you wouldn't even have to work, and you would have $72,000 income!!

      I plan on making it $100 a month very shortly, but the added bonus is they can email me to make unlimited changes a month, and I will do it for free. But I will not make the changes, I will pay someone else $5 an hour to make the changes.

      You need to think about a business model.
      For me the money is in the web design. I offer free hosting for a certain time frame to entice them to join. Hosting is an extra.. an extra they can go and get for $3/mo.

      You aren't just selling hosting.. if you are then you're ripping your clients off. There is a difference between offering hosting, and offering maintenance plans with it.

      My big money maker isn't hosting, its web design and upselling on google places or SEO.
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      • Profile picture of the author Simoshere
        Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

        You aren't just selling hosting.. if you are then you're ripping your clients off. There is a difference between offering hosting, and offering maintenance plans with it.
        I agree. As great as the recurring income is, I hope you are providing value to your clients. Because whenever you hear a client complain about their "webguy" its usually because they feel like they are paying him fees and are getting no return.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbishop
    It is all about converting that onetime sell into a monthly income stream. Now if you are only competing on price and seting your self up as a "webhost" then you are competing with the $3 per month crowd and with HG.

    Hopefully you have set your self apart. You sell the website and then provide "Monthly Maintenance" that would include hosting, updates, SEO(I need to host it to contral their SERP), ect. Let them know that they are getting YOU! not just some webhost.

    Now every site you build adds $20-$60 per month to your bottom line. Don't forget to outsource the parts of webhosting you don't like.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
    Originally Posted by s62731 View Post

    What!!!

    I cant believe some of you guys are talking about charging $15 a month, or giving them a year free.

    Are you trying to make money? or work a job?

    If you are a web designer, the money is not in the web design, it is in the hosting!!!

    What do I mean?

    When someone pays you $900 for a website, you are getting paid for the work you do. If it takes you x hours, you are making 900/X dollars an hour. You are working a job.

    With hosting, you get paid for doing nothing!

    I have a reseller account with hostgator, and it is working excellently. The amount I charge for hosting keeps rising, because no one is objecting.

    First it was $30 a month or $300 a year, then $40 a month, and now it is up to $60 a month!!

    These are businesses, that is poo change for them. $60 a month means $720 a year!

    So if I have 100 customers, that is $72,000 a year!

    So lets just say over the course of 1 year, you make 100 sales, and complete 100 websites and sign them all up to $60 a month hosting.

    That means the next year you wouldn't even have to work, and you would have $72,000 income!!

    I plan on making it $100 a month very shortly, but the added bonus is they can email me to make unlimited changes a month, and I will do it for free. But I will not make the changes, I will pay someone else $5 an hour to make the changes.

    You need to think about a business model.
    Originally Posted by sbishop View Post

    It is all about converting that onetime sell into a monthly income stream. Now if you are only competing on price and seting your self up as a "webhost" then you are competing with the $3 per month crowd and with HG.

    Hopefully you have set your self apart. You sell the website and then provide "Monthly Maintenance" that would include hosting, updates, SEO(I need to host it to contral their SERP), ect. Let them know that they are getting YOU! not just some webhost.

    Now every site you build adds $20-$60 per month to your bottom line. Don't forget to outsource the parts of webhosting you don't like.
    These are BOTH great comments.
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  • Profile picture of the author princewally
    I charge $25/month, but the yearly always gets adjusted to come in under whatever they are currently paying. I usually end up charging $75/year.
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  • Profile picture of the author Green Diamond
    I give it to them as bonus
    Believe me if they think that their hosting is free with you they will be with you for next update charges & that's the good money!
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  • Profile picture of the author Hugh
    iAmNameLess,

    I do the opposite. I charge little or nothing for the website, but get $89 per month
    FOREVER for maintaining their site. Includes hosting, an article now & then, back-
    links, citations, reviews and more - plus an email every month telling them about
    the wondrous things I have wrought (often a $5 Fiverr gig.)

    Love that residual income.

    Hugh
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    "Never make someone a priority in your life who makes you an option in theirs." Anon.
    "Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon." -- Winston Churchill

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  • Profile picture of the author 4webmaster
    Sometime it's better to be a web designer and charge hosting+services... monthly fees than being a web host company because your earning can be more when you deal with clients directly. We as web hosting need to get clients by hundreds min. based on a fair price offer. Some hosting providers offers cheap cheap prices but won't last long.
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  • Profile picture of the author goldog
    For the $25-50 mo "maintenance" and hosting cost be sure to pop in with something 3 or 4 times a year. Mostly just to remind them they have something better than their old web guy. Could be an up-sell involved (their chance to get on the Big Postcard! $100 bucks off) or just ask them what's new. If they haven't bothered with any updates to their content in 3 months it may be time.

    If you promised them traffic or leads here's your chance to show off your results. (You are producing results. Aren't you?)

    If you don't go in always selling something there's more of a chance they'll buy when you want them to.
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  • Profile picture of the author RichardDin
    it depends what your clients look like. Are they having serious sites or just salespages?
    If first - than $25 or $30 per month is a good price
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  • Profile picture of the author moodykitty
    I have a client just bought a site from me and was asking about hosting. I told him I could help him, of course but he has like 30 sites. I'm wondering what I should charge him... I don't want to just host, would like to offer more with hosting as a bonus.
    any thoughts?
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  • Profile picture of the author Wide
    What do you guys do when a client need a new domain? Do you tell him to register the domain himself and change the dns to you? or do you register the domain yourself and send a bill to your client?
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  • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
    Yeah,everyone knew that they can get cheap hosting in the market but if you set higher price, you must have something to sell which might be better than hostgator or with some value added in order to charge higher.
    Like maybe you can host more specific hosting package with different feature and limitation, or maybe you able to provide better service than hostgator, or you can provide more customize service or help them more in set up. In this way you show you are different and you can charges higher.
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  • Profile picture of the author kaper7
    Set up several packages and start at min $9.99 and include specific amouny of changes a month. Then charge a certain amount per hour for changes that exceeds that. Most business owners would rather deal with 1 offline consultant. They don't have time to call a hosting company and wait on the phone. They prefer to have their own "tech guy" they can email or call. You will be that person.
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    • Profile picture of the author moodykitty
      Originally Posted by kaper7 View Post

      Set up several packages and start at min $9.99 and include specific amouny of changes a month. Then charge a certain amount per hour for changes that exceeds that. Most business owners would rather deal with 1 offline consultant. They don't have time to call a hosting company and wait on the phone. They prefer to have their own "tech guy" they can email or call. You will be that person.
      thanks. Do you charge per the # of domains? or?
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      • Profile picture of the author kaper7
        Domains can be packaged as well but most of my clients only purchase 1 domain and we usually create subdomains for them if the need arises. $10 to $15 for dotcom and dot net is standard.

        Keep in mind that you're building a sustainable business that will be around for many years to come so always be fair and overdeliver. Finally, be of service and your business will grow through referals.

        Originally Posted by moodykitty View Post

        thanks. Do you charge per the # of domains? or?
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  • Profile picture of the author Stranger Danger
    moodykitty-

    That totally depends on what you will be providing. If you are strictly hosting the sites, there is no need to charge for each site - unless you are hosting them on your own server(s). If you will be doing ANY maintenance, updates, revisions etc., then you need to be charging for each domain that applies.

    Regarding price - only you can decide what your time is worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author scottgallagher
    I've had this debate several times. It comes down to value.

    A large client of mine, you may sleep in one of their beds, just dropped $2400 on my reseller accounting, netting us $1800 in profit, with full disclosure.

    We charge $20/mth for hosting, pay GoDaddy something like $4.50. For this extra $15 a month, our client has the 'insurance' that they can call us. We default the settings to 5 years. This client was more than happy to make her corporate job easier by knowing she could call my project manager at any time. They had no problem paying the $1900 premium, or $380 a year more to have the peace of mind to work with a close relationship.

    Out of ~250 clients we've had since 2005, I have 76 on my reseller account.

    We've never been shy about our markups to local businesses.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dexx
    I charge a minimum of $500 - $1,700 per month for a complete marketing system. Part of this package INCLUDES free hosting and server maintenance on a dedicated server (i.e. not sharing it with hundreds of other websites on a regular reseller account).

    Keep in mind that if the server goes down or has issues your clients will be coming after you to fix it / recoup losses. I'm hoping those of you offering such services have your responsibilities clearly defined in a written agreement prior to just signing up clients...

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  • Profile picture of the author andrealhendrick
    Hi Sounds,

    I experienced this exact same delima a few months ago. What I did was charge them slight more then what ther could get at host gator "19.95" to be exact, but with a little extra bonus. I would help them setup there site free, etc..
    Originally Posted by SoundsGood View Post

    Hi guys,

    I'm torn between getting a reseller account at Hostgator and then charging my clients a monthly hosting fee... or just asking the client to use my Hostgator affiliate link and taking the referral payout.

    If I do go the reseller route and collect the monthly myself, I'm not sure what to charge the client. Frankly, I feel a bit guilty charging them $25 or $30 per month when I know they can get their hosting from Hostgator for less than $10 per month.

    So... I'm wondering how much you guys charge your clients.

    I'm also curious to know how the client feels about this price, and if they've ever said anything like "hey wait, I can get hosting for $5 month!" (or something similar).

    Lastly, how do you guys handle the recurring billing? What do you use? PayPal, or?? How well does it work? etc...

    Thanks in advance any help you can provide!
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    • You should be packaging your hosting fees with 1 to 2 other services. As an example, if you have a Hostgator business account, then you're getting unlimited domains, so it really costs you nothing to add a new client's website to your portfolio. So why not give them free hosting for 6 months if they purchase your $39/month website maintenance plan? Or maybe 1/2 off hosting for 1 year with your $39/month website maintenance plan. In the fine print you have to definitely put a cap on what's included in that maintenance -- basically nothing you can't automate. Anyway, just some food for thought!
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      • Profile picture of the author JFSG
        Originally Posted by markstonepublishing View Post

        You should be packaging your hosting fees with 1 to 2 other services. As an example, if you have a Hostgator business account, then you're getting unlimited domains, so it really costs you nothing to add a new client's website to your portfolio. So why not give them free hosting for 6 months if they purchase your $39/month website maintenance plan? Or maybe 1/2 off hosting for 1 year with your $39/month website maintenance plan. In the fine print you have to definitely put a cap on what's included in that maintenance -- basically nothing you can't automate. Anyway, just some food for thought!
        That is a bad idea in my opinion. It will be better to get a reseller account to separate different customer's websites. Imagine if one site violates the host's ToS and gets suspended, all sites on it gets suspended too.
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        • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
          Originally Posted by JFSG View Post

          That is a bad idea in my opinion. It will be better to get a reseller account to separate different customer's websites. Imagine if one site violates the host's ToS and gets suspended, all sites on it gets suspended too.
          Not to mention if one of those sites were compromised, all of them would be. That could be a disaster.
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  • Profile picture of the author ImDanHoward
    I was offering their first year for free and then $12.95 after the first year, but I got tired of messing with all the hosting accounts in my reseller acct. Now, when I land a local client, I just give them my HG affiliate link and get the $100 and setup them up for free or include it in your fees.
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  • Profile picture of the author george12345
    Hi all i started working as a webdesigner soon i bought unlimited packge with ipage hosting and dicided to put my clients websites on it i have about 4 websites the host is good but i need a prof advice should i go for a reseller or just keep that way and give my client a ftp user and pass . Another question one of my clients wants about 3 mails but he wants a lot of space and ipage give me only 250 mb per mail
    Another company has emails packges unlimited 10 emails for about 3 to4 dollars a month should i buy it for him and give him 3 mails and he pays for each mail seperate .
    And google apps to but its free should i give it for free to him or add extra charge to hosting and domain
    If you have any idea to help me bec my business will grow soon I hope that but I don't want to keep thinking what about hosting and domain how I will manage this right please help me I want to take it from the experts note most of my clients don't know what hosting is or domain and please I you have answer to host package don't forget I need mails too with variable spaces
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    • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
      Originally Posted by george12345 View Post

      Hi all i started working as a webdesigner soon i bought unlimited packge with ipage hosting and dicided to put my clients websites on it i have about 4 websites the host is good but i need a prof advice should i go for a reseller or just keep that way and give my client a ftp user and pass . Another question one of my clients wants about 3 mails but he wants a lot of space and ipage give me only 250 mb per mail
      NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO- have emails packges unlimited 10 emails for about 3 to4 dollars a month should i buy it for him and give him 3 mails and he pays for each mail seperate .
      And google apps to but its free should i give it for free to him or add extra charge to hosting and domain
      If you have any idea to help me bec my business will grow soon I hope that but I don't want to keep thinking what about hosting and domain how I will manage this right please help me I want to take it from the experts note most of my clients don't know what hosting is or domain and please I you have answer to host package don't forget I need mails too with variable spaces
      I'd suggest getting a reseller account.

      Find a web host that sets limits on total space, then you can set email account size limits as long as they fit inside your total space limits. It seems that your "unlimited" hosting plan is in fact limited. :/
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      • Profile picture of the author george12345
        Ya its limited for email only but i get about 100k of gb for bandwidth and unlimited storage for websites blogs and it will be a good deal as i pay around 50 to 8o dollars per year but reseller 3o dollars per month
        And plz answer all my questions
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